High school 'reaches out' to students returning from hospital. (Reaching Out, a high school reintegration program for psychiatrically hospitalized students)(includes related article)

Adolescents' discharge following psychiatric hospitalization has been made less stressful by "Reaching Out," a high school reintegration program that cuts down on stigma and rehospitalization.

Relapse prevention initiatives such as the Deerfield (IL) High School's program -- which provides counseling, tutoring and other supports to students returning from hospitalization -- are especially useful in these days of shorter hospital stays.

Reaching Out is worthwhile for the relapses and other crises it prevents, said Leonard Carr, M.D., medical director of Adolescent Psychiatry at nearby Highland Park Hospital. "It's prevention in a group that's very fragile and …